Tile board



June 10, 1941. L, DUSSQL 2,245,468

TILE BOARD Filed Dec. 15, 1940 INVENTOR: Lucien/1. u/sol,

BY www Patented June 10, 1941 UNITED STATES/PATENT OFFICE TILE BOARDLucien A. Dussol, Mount Marion, N. Y.

Application December 13, 1940, Serial No. 369,924

4 Claims.

This invention relates to imitation tile as made by shaping, andcovering with enamel, lacquer or the like, the surface of a selectedside of a wall board, to have the board at such side simulate an area ofa wall actually expensively covered by a plurality of separate ceramictile individually laid in tile cement and spaced from each other bycement lines located below the plane of the top flats of thetile-simulating elements.

This tile .board, as it will be called, is commonly made of vwall boardin the form of fairly thin sheets of compressed material, usually fibre,as wood pulp, and is given the shaping above reerred to by cutting intosaid surface intersecting grooves to subdivide the board into portionseach of which is representative of v'a single ceramic tile.

After the board is thus shaped, the covering material is applied, inliquid form, and in two separate applications. The first of saidapplications` hereinafter called the tile finish, is laid all over theshaped surface, and the second of said applications, hereinafter calledthe cement flnish, is laid as stripings in the bottoms of the grooves,

Tile board made as above is now a widely used article of manufacture,being especially valuable for store-fronts, show-cases, bath rooms,showertub stalls, and kitchens, to mention only some of its importantfields of usefulness.

The makers of tile board, however, have long sought a solution of theserious problem of so cross-sectionally shaping the grooves that afterdrying and hardening of the tile finish, saidtile finish will not bematerially less resistant to water, steam and moisture at points alongor adjacent to the lines of merger of the grooves with the main portionsor top flats of the imitation tile units, than at said flats.

The previous inability adequately to solve this problem, I have found,has been due to universal adherence to the previous practice of cuttingthe grooves so that cross-sectionally they are shaped substantially likethe lowerhalf, or the major portion of the lower half, of the letter O,or of a sanare. As a consequencein order to satisfy' the demand of themarket that the imitation tile units of the tile board have, by actualor apparent lie oftheir top flats well above the plane of the imitationcement lines between said units, a very close if not a perfectresemblance to actual ceramic tile individually laid by the expert tilesetter-grooves made according to the practice just mentioned have had tobe kept at their tops top of a groove side-wall. This localized thinningof the tile finish to less than the intended thickness thereof all overthe tile board, and to less than the thickness of the tile finish overthe top flats of the tile units and over the lower portions of thegrooves, establishes zones of weakness in the tile finish so far as isconcerned the function it must perform in acting as a protective barrieragainst penetration of water and steam therethrough and deterioratinglyinto the material of the wall board.

Previous workers in the art, in endeavors to prevent final loss ofadequate thickness in the tile finish adjacent to the tops of the groovewhile nevertheless retaining a shape for the groove requiring fairlysteep side walls therefor, have proposed, as remedies for this side-wallsteepness, special localized formations for the side Walls, such asroundedcorners for the tops of the latter, auxiliary curvaturesimmediately above or below such rounded corners, and like expedients.

The real solution of the difficulty indicated above, I have found, byactual manufacture of tile board, is actually obtainable by employingwhat I call a compound groove, and one characterized by a V-shaped upperportion anda distinctly stepped-down minor lower portion, this latterportion having substantially vertical side walls.

The present invention will be clearly understood, and the advantagesthereof appreciated, from the following description of a now preferredembodiment of the new groove as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a portion of a tile board made according to the invention,looking toward the top of the same, that is, toward the side of theboard carrying the imitation tile units.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken at right angles to the plane of theboard, throughone of the new grooves; this view being on an enlargedscale, but with none of the coatings shown in Fig. 4 yet applied.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to and drawn on the same scale as Fig. 2,showing the sides of the V-shaped upper portion of the groove at a lessangle` to the plane of the board than in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to and showing the same groove as in Fig. 2,but on a much enlarged scale, and also showing, in the case of a boardtreated with a preliminary priming coat, thedispositions of such coatand of the tile and cement finishes at completion of manufacture of thetile board.

The new groove of the present invention, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4,is marked generally I0. Such groove, it will be noted, is a compoundone, having an upper major V-shaped portion II, and a lower minordistinctly stepped-down portion I2. The groove I' of Fig. 3 is shown asdiffering from the groove I0 only in that the side-walls of the upperV-shaped portion Il of the latter are inclined at angles of about 17 tothe plane of the board while the side-walls of the upper V-shaped.portion of the groove I0' of Fig. 3, this portion marked II', are thusinclined at angles of about 12; and in that while the bottom wall of thestepped-down portion I2 of the groove Il is flat and horizontal, thesame stepped-down portion of the groove I0', this portion marked I2',has a concavely-rounded bottom wall. These differences between the twogrooves apparently are unimportant, so far as exhaustive tests haveshown, in obtaining the advantages of the invention.

In preparation for the application of the tile and cement finishes,marked I4 and I5, respectively, in 4, the wall board, marked I E, afterbeing grooved at a selected side thereof to subdivide that side intoimitation tile units I 1, is customarily at said side given a primingcoat Il of a highly pigmented varnish. The purpose of this priming coatIl is to hide the color of the board, tc ll in the minute porositiesthereof,

and to afford a nice smooth foundation for thetile finish I4.

While a most important function of the tile finish Il is to give theLimitation tile units the usually intended pure-white, or other desiredcoloration, and to impart to them the sheen and gloss typical of genuineceramic tile, a vitally important purpose of this tile finish is also toprovide, all over theA whole side of the board carrying said units, acertainly dependable barrier against the penetration of moisture, steamand water into the material of the board.

In this last regard, I find that with a groove IB or III shaped to havean upper V-shaped portion II or II' as above described, and even withthe legs I9 or I 9' of such V having nonrounded mergers with the topflats of the imitation tile units I'I, there is no really measurablethinning of the tile finish Il either near said mergers or anywhere downalong said legs I9 or I9'. I thus completely overcome the troublethought to reside in the existence of a non-rounded corner at themeeting line of the side wall of a groove and the top flat of animitation tile unit.

But this solution of the problem of providing an adequate thickness ofthe tile finish Il at the lines of merger of the tops of. the groovewith the top flats of the imitation tile units and all the way sidewalls were solelythe V-legs I9 or I9', would not provide a tile boardsatisfactory to the trade from the standpoint of having the imitationtile units I1 meet the requirement of having a very close resemblance toactually individually laid ceramic tile. The top ats of these units, forone thing, would not actually be, or at least not appear to be, highenough above the top surface of the cement finish lying in the groovebottoms.

This requirement, however, I fully meet by the groove of the presentinvention; due to the compound nature of the same as aforesaid, that is,due to the addition, below the V-legs I9 or I9', of `the central minorstepped-down portion I2 or I2. Such portion, it will be noted, is acomparatively narrow channel, and one of even less depth than width;this channel having side walls 20 which from tops to bottoms arestraight and at right angles tcl the plane of the board, as in Fig. 2,or side walls 20 which from their tops to near their bottoms arestraight and at right angles to the plane of the board, as in Fig. 3.

By the use of a compound groove of this kind, I actually lower thecentral longitudinal plane of the cement finish I5 to some extent belowthe bottoms of the Velegs I9 or I9', and at the same time I provide ashadow eii'ect the visual result of which is apparently further to lowersaid plane so much below the top hats of the imitation tile units Ilthat these units seem to stand.

out very boldly fromsaid plane, while giving the illusion that they havemarginal shapings very close indeed to those typical of actual ceramictile.

This visual eiect is apparently best obtained when the depth of. thecompound groove, as the groove III or I0', ranges from substantially.090" as a maximum to substantially .050" as a minimum (the presentpreference for such depth being .078"); when the width of said compoundgroove at its top is about five times its said depth; and when thebottom channel, as the channel I2 or I2', has at its top a. width abouttwice its depth but onlyabout one-sixth the top width of the compoundgroove. In order to obtain the advantages of the invention, the topwidth of the compound groove should, it is believed, be so related tothe top width of the bottom channel that the former width is a multiple,within the range substantially of four times as a minimum and six timesas a maximum, of the top width of the bottom channel. It will be noted,that in Fig. 4 an attempt has been made, as far as the scale of the`drawing will allow, to show now preferred relative dimensions asbetween the upper or V-shaped portion I I and the lower portion orbottom channel I2 of the groove III; and also to show, more or lessdiagrammatically, less thickness of the priming coat I8 and of the tilefinish I l, over the top ilats of the imitation tile units I1, thanwithin the grooves, in view of the fact that, ordinarily, said coat I8,after drying and before application of the tile finish I4, is sanded,and the tile nish, after drying, is polished, with this sanding andpolishing performed only at said top fiats.

Considering now particularly thecement finish I5, which is always ofacontrasting color or shade of. color to that of the tile finish I4, thecement finish in practically every case being a pale gray or a grayishwhite, it will be noted that said cement finish, as finally set in Fig.4, is almost entirely confined to the channel I2, having a main centralbody lying over the tile finish I I where the latter extends along thebottom of the channel I2, but with this body along its opposite sidescarrying wing-like upward extensions tapered upwardly as shown, saidextensions marked 2|. It

will also be noted that the top surface of said main body of the cementfinish I! is distinctly below the corners 22 (Figs. 2 and 4) formedbetween the tops of the side walls 2l of the channel l2 and the bottomsof the legs I! defining the V- shaped upper main portion II of thegroove, and that the tops of the `wing-likeextensions 2l are distinctlyabove said corners.

Such a final disposition of the cement finish in a groove I' alwaysresults, I have found, when the cement finish is discharged from thetrailing end of a striping gun, the output of. which is regulatedthrough controlled air pressure, with/this gun drawn along and guided bythe groove while being held in alignment with 'the groove and upwardlyinclined at about a 45 angle away from and ahead of its trailing end,and while the cement finish is being discharged from the gun in a volumerelative to its speed of travel along. the groove suflicient to depositin the latter the quantity of cement finish required, andat a low enoughvelocity to cause the cement finish to rise as high up along the sidesof the groove as the points 23.`

As shown very clearly in Fig. 4, the final disposition of the cementfinish is not only such that its extensions 2l rise up above the corners22, as already pointed out,v but these extensions are so built up on thetile finish Il, in the vicinity of said corners, vthat there thecombined thicknesses of the tile and cement finishes is at least equalto the thickness of the tile finish alone elsewhere over the tileIboard.

What the present invention does, really, is to provide,.for use inmaking a tile board, a novel groove which from its very nature,transfers a necessarily present corner from a trouble-making location,to a new and innocuous one, so far as is concerned the previous difcultyin endeavoring to employ a layer of tile nnish i4, evenly distributed inliquid form all over the board, vfor establishing a barrier against thepenetration into the board of moisture, steam and water. Whereas theoldtrouble-making corner was at the very top of the groove, out of reachof assistance by the cement finish I5 to the tile iinish I4 in the workto be done by the latter in establishing said barrier, said corner is bythe present invention lowered far enough down in the groove to allow thecement finish, applied as a striping at the depressed location at whichit must be applied, to act conjointly with the tile finish, where thelatter may be thinned in the vicinity of said corner, in establishingthe required thickness of the barrier in said vicinity.

That the cement finish I5, after being deposited up along the sides of agroove as above described, always sets in such'manner that theextensions 2| are finally present substantially as shown in Fig. 4, is,I believe, due in part to what in physics is known as the meniscuseffect, in part to the relatively high viscosity of tile and cementfinishes (liquids such as lacquers, enamels, plastics, and the like),and in part to the tendency of a later applied coat of such a liquid tocoalesce with or strongly cling to a previously applied coat of a likeliquid, when the former coat is applied before Vthe latter coat,although dried somewhat, has fully set. In this latter connection, itshould be noted that the now preferred practice in the art is to use alacquer, enamel or plastic of the same kind, and of the same type orcomposition (except for coloring matter), for both the tile and likeoblique inclinations to the plane of the board, such inclination beingwithin the range of approximately 12 to said plane, as a minimum,

and approximately 17 to said plane, as a maximum, and the top width ofsaid V-shaped portion being a. multiple, within the range substantiallyof rfour times as -a minimum and six times as a maximum, of the topwidth of said bottom channe v 2. A tile board having intersectinggrooves in one of its sides whichk subdivide the latter into imitationtile units having flat tops, each groove comprised of an upper V-shapedportion and a lower minor central portion constituting a bottom channel;the' side walls of said V-shaped portion, hereinafter called theV-legs,having like oblique inclinations to the plane of the board, suchinclination being within the range of approximately 12 to said plane, asa minimum, and approximately 17 to said plane, as maximum, and the topwidth of said V-shaped portion being a multiple, within the rangesubstantially of four times as a minimum and six times as a maximum, ofthe top width of said bottom channel; said V- legs being substantiallyflat all the way down along the same substantially to the tops of theside walls of said bottom channel, these lastnamed walls hereinaftercalled the lower sidewalls, said lower side-walls from near their topsto near their bottoms having general lines of extension which areconsiderably closer to a angle to the plane of the board than to a 35such angle, the hereinabove specified angles being such vthat thegeneral line of approach of each V-leg to the general line of extensionof the adjacent lower side-wall denes an angle which is at least threetimes greater than the angle of upward approach of said V-leg to a linejoining the flat tops of the tile units at opposite sides of the groove.

3. A tile board as in claim 1, in which the side walls of said V-shapedportion have a sharpcorner joinder with the top flats of the imitationtile units, but a corner defining an angle less than one-third thatdefined by the corner first-mentioned.

4. A tile board as in claim 2, in winch said side of. the board iscovered all over with a tile finish, and in which the bottoms of thegrooves are covered with a cement finish overlying the tile finish insaid groove bottoms, the cement nnish being in the form ci asubstantially U-shaped nlm the upper ends of the legs of which U arelocated, with said side of the board uppermost, above the levelvintermediate the top and bottom oi? the groove marked by the point ofintersection of the general line of approach of a V-leg toward theadjacent lower side-wall, and the general line of extension of saidside-wall.

LUCIEN A. DUSSOL.

